Effects of Pulverization and Dead Sn Accumulation in SnO₂ Nanorods Grown on Carbon Cloth on Their Electrochemical Performances as the Anode in Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract

Volume variation, pulverization, and dead Sn accumulation that occur during lithiation/delithiation cycling are the main drawbacks of using SnO2 particles as anodes in lithium ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, we fabricated [001]-oriented SnO2 nanorods with different thicknesses (55–105 nm) on carbon cloth and sealed them with a layer of partially reduced graphene oxide (rGO@SnO2@CC). Through systematic evaluation, we found that in the thinnest SnO2 nanorods (≲55 nm), there is no dead Sn observed after 100 cycles of lithiation/delithiation in LIBs. The pulverization of the thinnest SnO2 nanorod as an anode is also greatly suppressed. In contrast, the pulverization of SnO2 nanorods and severe aggregation of dead Sn occurred in the thicker SnO2 (75 and 105 nm), which severely affects its electrochemical performance. The property of the rGO@SnO2@CC with thinner SnO2 nanorods makes it a promising anode material for LIBs. The work should also be beneficial for the development of SnO2-based anode materials for LIBs.